A majority of President Joe Biden’s own supporters believe he should step down as the Democrat Party’s presumptive nominee, an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll found.
The overall survey found two-thirds of Americans, 67 percent, expressing the belief that Biden should step down as his party’s presumptive nominee after his infamous debate performance. According to ABC News, that also includes a “majority of Joe Biden’s own supporters.”
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There is not an incredibly clear consensus on who should replace Biden, 81, as just 29 percent of Democrat and Democrat-leaning voters chose Vice President Kamala Harris as their top pick to replace Biden. Nevertheless, the survey found “seven in ten Democrats” reporting they would be “satisfied with Harris as the Democratic nominee for president.” However, most Americans across the board, 53 percent, would not be satisfied.
Only seven percent of Democrats and Democrat-leaners chose California Gov. Gavin Newsom as their top candidate.
While most, 58 percent, believe both Biden and former President Donald Trump are “too old” for another term as president, more than a quarter, 28 percent, said only Biden is too old. Just two percent said the same of Trump alone.
Nevertheless, Americans are more confident in Trump’s health and overall well-being than Biden’s.
Per the survey:
Biden faces greater scrutiny on his health and well-being than Trump. For example, 44% say the statement “he has the mental sharpness it takes to serve effectively as president” applies more to Trump compared to 14% who feel it applies more to Biden. Two in five (41%) say that statement does not apply to either man. A similar pattern emerges on the question of good physical health (44% applies more to Trump, 13% more to Biden, 43% neither). Of note, Biden has lost ground on both of these attributes since late April, while perceptions of Trump’s mental and physical health have not changed.
The survey was taken July 5-9, 2024, among 2,431 adults. It has a ± 2.1 percent margin of error and comes as Biden continues to ward off calls for him to drop out of the presidential race. He has remained defiant, even writing in a letter to congressional Democrats in which he made it clear that he will not drop out of the race and ignore the will of the voters.
Biden’s defiance comes as the White House publicly acknowledges that Biden was among those present in a January White House meeting that included Dr. Kevin Cannard, a neurologist specializing in Parkinson’s disease at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
Biden is slated to participate in a one-on-one interview with NBC’s Lester Holt, which notably comes after the network ran a segment saying he “definitely” has Parkinson’s.